Surface coating for chamber components used in plasma systems

Abstract

Disclosed herein are surface coatings for plasma components that have the benefit of being robust against chemical and plasma physical attack in aggressive (e.g., fluorine-based) plasma environments. The coatings also provide low plasma surface recombination rates for active oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and hydrogen species when compared with other known surface treatments. The coatings can be applied to any plasma system component not requiring etching or plasma cleaning including but not limited to materials like quartz, aluminum, or anodized aluminum. Additionally, the efficiency of the system is increased by applying a non-reactive coating to system components thereby increasing the flow of excited plasma species to the plasma chamber of the system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A coating applied to a surface of a component of a plasma-wetted system, wherein the coating comprises:
 aluminum oxynitride having a composition of about:
 aluminum in an amount of between about 25 at % to about 60 at %; 
 oxygen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %; and 
 nitrogen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %; 
 
 wherein the component of the plasma-wetted system consists essentially of aluminum, anodized aluminum or combinations thereof; and 
 wherein the coating is 4-5 μm thick, is substantially homogeneous, and is applied directly to the surface of the component and decreases the reactivity of the surface of the component of the plasma-wetted system. 
 
     
     
       2. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the surface of the component of the plasma-wetted system is subjected to a plasma stream comprising one or more of:
 atomic oxygen, molecular oxygen, atomic hydrogen, molecular hydrogen, atomic nitrogen, molecular nitrogen, molecular argon, atomic argon, atomic fluorine, molecular fluorine. 
 
     
     
       3. The coating of  claim 2 , wherein the plasma stream comprises one or more of a fluorine-bearing plasma, an oxygen-bearing plasma, a hydrogen-bearing plasma and a nitrogen-bearing plasma. 
     
     
       4. The coating of  claim 3 , wherein the fluorine-bearing plasma comprises: CF 4 , CHF 3 , CF 3 H, C 2 F 6 , C 4 F 8 , SF 6 , NF 3 , F 2  and C 4 F 8 O. 
     
     
       5. The coating of  claim 3 , wherein the oxygen-bearing plasma comprises: O 2 , O 3 , N 2 O, CO, CO 2 , C 4 F 8 O, H 2 O and H 2 O 2 . 
     
     
       6. The coating of  claim 3 , wherein the hydrogen-bearing plasma comprises: H 2 , CH 4 , NH 3 , N 2 H 2 , C 2 H 2 , H 2 O, H 2 O 2 , N 2 /H 2 , He/H 2  and Ar/H 2 . 
     
     
       7. The coating of  claim 3 , wherein the nitrogen-bearing plasma comprises N 2 , N 2 O, NH 3 , NF 3 , N 2 /H 2  and NO. 
     
     
       8. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the coating is applied by, vapor deposition, sputter deposition, thermal spray coating, sol-gel coating, atmospheric plasma deposition, magnetron sputtering, electron beam deposition, or pulsed laser deposition. 
     
     
       9. The coating of  claim 8 , wherein the vapor deposition is plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD); physical vapor deposition (PVD); and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). 
     
     
       10. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the coating is stable at temperatures between about −150° C. and about +600° C. 
     
     
       11. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the plasma-wetted system is:
 a downstream, remote plasma system, an inductively coupled plasma system, a capacitive coupled plasma system, a reactive ion etch plasma system, and atmospheric plasma system, and an ion-etch plasma system. 
 
     
     
       12. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the coating has a hardness of between about 3 GPa to about 10 GPa. 
     
     
       13. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the coating has an elastic (Young's) modulus of between about 100 GPa to about 20 GPa. 
     
     
       14. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the coating contacts the surface of the component and the portion has the composition of about:
 aluminum in an amount of between about 25 at % to about 60 at %; 
 oxygen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %; and 
 nitrogen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %. 
 
     
     
       15. The coating of  claim 1 , wherein the coating is a single layer. 
     
     
       16. A plasma-wetted system comprising:
 a component having a surface consisting essentially of aluminum, anodized aluminum or combinations thereof; and 
 a coating applied directly to the surface of the component so that a portion of the coating is in contact with the surface, which decreases the reactivity of the component of the plasma-wetted system, wherein the coating is 4-5 μm thick and substantially homogeneous, and wherein the portion of the coating comprises aluminum oxynitride having a composition of about:
 aluminum in an amount of between about 25 at % to about 60 at %; 
 oxygen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %; and 
 nitrogen in an amount of between about 20 at % to about 40 at %. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The coating of  claim 16 , wherein the coating is stable at temperatures between about −150° C. and about +600° C. 
     
     
       18. The coating of  claim 16 , wherein the plasma-wetted system is:
 a downstream, remote plasma system, an inductively coupled plasma system, a capacitive coupled plasma system, a reactive ion etch plasma system, and atmospheric plasma system, and an ion-etch plasma system. 
 
     
     
       19. The coating of  claim 16 , wherein the coating has a hardness of between about 3 GPa to about 10 GPa. 
     
     
       20. The coating of  claim 16 , wherein the coating has an elastic (Young's) modulus of between about 100 GPa to about 20 GPa.